My kids enjoy Brains On. It's a science podcast for elementary ages. I believe with Periscope you can chat with the person as they do their broadcast. I've only watched them later so I'm not really certain how t works.

Have you use it? My son loves poetry and this looks right up his alley. I don't know much about poetry so we could both learn something.

I won $50 to spend at IEW.com, I'm not planning to use IEW's writing program, what should I get instead? I have an 8, 6, and 3 year old. ETA my 8 year old already reads very well and is a natural speller. My 6 year old is a beginning reader, I haven't done any spelling with her yet. Learn to Sing and the Poetry program both look interesting. Any experience with either one?

Marking to find later.

We just returned. I really enjoyed the Udvar-Hazy Air and Space Museum, it isn't the museum on the mall, it's out near Dulles Airport. That was probably the one activity our entire family enjoyed the most. The National Gallery of Art was wonderful too, they have guides for children that really added to the experience. My 8 year old loved the Spy Museum but my husband said it was kind of pricy for what it is (just the two of them went so I can't say if it was worth it). They do have coupons, look online or in your hotel lobby. I took my younger two kids to the American Indian Museum, there is a children's discovery area I believe on the 3rd floor, it was perfect for my 3 and 6 year old. They got to participate in a beading activity which they both enjoyed. They also have passports to stamp and my 3 year old thought that was awesome. At the kids request we ended up going to the zoo, it was nice although it's a lot of walking and many of the exhibits were closed for cleaning. We did get to see the pandas which was neat. Overall my kids' favorite parts or our trip were riding the Metro, especially when it went underground, and swimming at the hotel. I enjoyed the Archives, WW2 memorial, and the National Gallery of Art the most. Udvar-Hazy appealed to everyone. We did a lot in the week we were there and still missed a ton. I wanted my kids to have fun though so we went at their pace.

Mardel may be an option too. I generally order from Amazon, Peace Hill Press, or Rainbow Resource.

I want to copy you!

I don't have time to read all the responses right now, but I feel for you. My husband works a lot and frequently travels, often at last minute. He is successful and part of why he is, is because I don't work. If I worked, he couldn't be as flexible. For the most part I plan my days as if he isn't going to be there. For a year every Monday night and Saturday morning I went to spin class. If he was home, he watched kids, if he wasn't they went to the gym childcare. I plan appointments assuming he isn't available and then am pleasantly surprised he can help out. His travel is always heavier when a project kicks off and wraps up, so when he's going through a heavy travel period, I plan a night to meet friends or a morning just to be kid free. He had a project that was going really poorly a couple years ago that was causing him to work pretty much constantly. He was traveling frequently to appease a client, often last minute. There were lots of phone calls and emails to the point he was spending 4-5 hours a night just on responding to email. I finally politely but firmly put my foot down. He was super stressed to the point it was causing me to have insomnia. I said we needed some ground rules to make things better. I wanted at least 24 hour notice if he was gone overnight and I preferred him not being gone more than 2-3 days at a time. We also agreed on no email or work calls from the time he got home until the kids were in bed. We got through that project and then renegotiated so that he was able to do what he needed to for work without me feeling like I had too much home responsibility. The no calls or email until the kids are in bed has pretty much become a permanent rule. When he is in town, he does his best to be home in time for supper then handles bedtime. This works with his particular job and for us. I guess it just helped to lay out what was stressing me out and then coming up with some solutions to make it easier. That will look different in every family. Good luck!

Saving to find later.

I see MFW used on various Facebook groups, I would guess people would be reluctant to ship overseas though. Do you have someone in the US a used copy could be sent to and then forwarded to you?

We are staying in Ashburn, it's not super convenient for the Metro, but it is near where my husband has work meetings. It was a 25 minute drive to the Metro then a 45 minute ride to The Smithsonian stop. I would have liked to stay a stop or two closer, but the price was right for the hotel (his company is paying). I will say the Metro is super easy to navigate but by the time you pay $5 to park and $5ish per person for each direction to ride, you may as well pay the downtown hotel parking rate if that is primarily where you will be headed.

Kindergarten looks different with my second kindergartener. She sits in with our morning routine which is bible memory work, singing a couple songs, a current read aloud, and a devotional or character reading. This lasts up to an hour but is often 30 minutes. I do reading with her for 15-20 minutes, copy work/ handwriting for 5-10 minutes, and math which is 15-20 minutes. She also sits in on SOTW and science. Most of the time she participates, but it isn't a requirement. I have recently started doing Five in a Row (FIAR) with my K and 3 year old. We don't do anything complicated with the stories but I wanted to do some extra, focused reading geared more toward them. I think an hour to an hour and a half is about right for kindergarten if you are including read alouds.

Why don't they want her to speak? Did she do or say something controversial?

I really enjoyed Sarah Mackenzie and Adam Andrews. The other sessions I sat in weren't bad but not great (I only attended one Sat). I missed SD Smith Thursday night by getting in too late. We did accident crash a party at a bookstore wth him and Sarah Mackenize. Most of the sessions I was really interested in were on Saturday but we needed to travel that day and I missed them. I noticed Cathy Duffy and Jim Weiss missing and was also surprised Julie from Bravewritter wasn't there.

We are in DC this week, as far as I know there are not any mosques where I live so this would be a good way for my kids to learn about another religion. Do you think there would be a time of day that would be better to go?

The Incredible Journey is really good. My 8 year old loved reading Hatchet, our librarian recommended it after she listened to the audiobook. The Trumpet of the Swan, especially if you have the version read By EB White is good too.

I'm not in a co-op but I think I would teach something that isn't as likely to get done at home alone or is more fun with a group. My choices would be art, music, or pe.

So sorry! Who did you hear? I only made it to the vendor hall last night, I was hoping to catch SD Smith but got caught in construction on the way here and didn't make it quite in time. I'm listening to Sarah Mackenzie now, I'm stuck in the hall but am really enjoying her session. I know she isn't everyone's cup of tea but I really enjoy her perspective.

It's back tonight. I feel bad for Other John, it must get old tying to get rid of the spam.

Is part of the reason the old school is now so much more costly because your child will now be there more hours each week? Things I would consider: Is the higher priced preschool a financial burden? Would going to the less expensive school allow you to do some things you currently are not able to do? Is the new school closer so you have less commute time?

My anxious child doesn't seem to have that level of anxiety, so keep that in mind. One thing we comfort him with is that he is a child and he has parents who have been in similar situations before and have the skills to handle issues. It takes the pressure off him to think he needs to have everything figured out. We also role play. I'll ask one thing he's concerned about, it may be spmething as minor as a flat tire, so we talk about what we would do if that happened. Maps and a plan help too, but he also needs to be reminded the plan can change, it's just a plan. I find that I walk a fine line between telling him about new things in advance, I don't like to surprise him, but if he has too much time to think he comes up with new ways to worry. In your son's particular case would it be helpful if his medical team talked to him about the risk of his tumor returning? Could they reassure him with regards to medical care if he had an emergency while you are gone? At 6 I imagine this is really scary. I'm not sure if you are Christian, but we also pray for our son and with our son over his concerns.

Has anyone served? Our library is looking for two people for the board of five. It's a 4 year term with monthly meetings. I've read the minutes of the meetings for the past year, it appears to be mostly approving the director's decisions. I live in a small community that is very political, I didn't grow up here so it can be difficult to get to know people. It is a great community though and I think it would be a great opportunity. The children's librarian encouraged me to apply, I love our library and am there often. What do I need to think about before applying? The deadline is next Friday and I am leaving town this Thursday so I have to quickly decide whether or not to apply.

You guys are making me feel better. My son is a voracious reader and we are attempting REAL science this year, but it doesn't get done and he tends to already know the information. He does enjoy doing demonstrations but definitely learns more reading my husband's Mechanical Engineering magazine that comes every month.

I am sorry for your loss.

I have an iPhone and use the Stitcher app. It's really easy to use, I save my favorite stations and mark specific shows for listening later. The "listen later" feature saves the episode to your phone so you don't have to use data or be on wireless to listen to it.